Second Base
by Baalsgirl
Summary: Cameron is pulled into the line of fire by an old flame's daughter, whose father proves to be one of Earth's worst enemies... Finale's up now. Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

Second Base

**Second Base**

Author: Baalsgirl

Disclaimer: I don't own Stargate or any of the original characters and settings. Any non-original elements in this story belong to me. If you want to use them, please ask first. (I'm not biting.)

Rating: PG-14 / M

Genre: Action/Drama

Season: late 9

Spoilers/Episodes: Ripple Effect ; Ex Deus Machina

Pairings: some Cam-related ones ;)

Summary: Once Cameron failed to get to second base with Amy Vandenberg. Now she's having a kid from an unknown father that might endanger national security...

A/N: Hey, this is my first SG-1 story in quite awhile. I hope you'll like it. )

xxxxx

She was swinging on her favorite swing in the park as suddenly there were shadows flashing through the trees. They came from two black SUVs riding along the parkway. After a moment she could hear a loud rustle in the foliage. They had come to a halt very close to her; only the trees were still separating them from where she was. Quickly she scrambled away, hiding in the bushes. Scared she watched how a group of men in black coats approached the swing that was still moving. They knew that she was around. After rummaging through the brush on the other side of the lawn some of them came walking towards her position. "We know you're here. There's no need to hide. We don't want to harm you."

She froze crouching down even closer to the ground. There was no way she could believe them. They had come to hurt her.

_xx Two weeks earlier xx _

Relaxed Cameron enjoyed an ice-cooled beer at the bar of what used to be his favorite diner. He had just come down from visiting his mother and decided to stop by for a little break before going back to the SGC. During his youth he'd spent quite a lot of time at this place. Here a lot of memories mingled together: Memories of Sunday lunches with his parents, memories of him and his friends watching baseball games and, most of all, memories of himself going out with Amy.

Cam knew that he could never forget about that, so he lived with the grief. They had been a couple since their senior year of high school and had staid that way all through his years at Air Force Academy. But once he had completed flight training and started thinking about becoming a test pilot she had suddenly backed out.

She had thought things over, she had said, and found it all too dangerous. What if they had kids and one day he just wouldn't come back home anymore? She'd be crazy to live with that fear for the rest of her life.

This had given him a big damper. He had been very angry with her. By saying it Amy had not only hurt his feelings. She had also insulted his mom who had married his dad, well aware of the risks attached to his job. It had made him totally furious and he had been very mean to her. Too late he realized that she hadn't wanted to insult him at all. They could have talked things over and gotten back together, then. But because of his stubborn hot-headedness she had finally run away with another guy. He hadn't seen her again since then. Sometimes he even wondered what had become of his ex-wife-to-be... Then, suddenly a loud shriek shook him from his self-reflections.

"Ow, leave me be", she yelled trying to fend off the boys from her school. But they kept on running after her, pelting her with empty soda cans. After another moment she gave up fighting against them and broke down weeping.

"Look, now the little wiseass is crying", they teased her and got way too close. That moment, just before they could get to her, someone stepped in, placing himself between her and the attackers.

"Hey, go play with someone your size", she heard him say. A muddle of hushed curses from the boys followed before they vanished out of sight. It was then that she dared to look up again. First she saw his feet and then his outstretched hand offering to help her up. Happily she took it. "You okay?"

Slowly she nodded. "Yeah, I think. Thank you for saving me."

"No problem, kiddo", the stranger smiled at her, "I wonder what you've done to piss them off like that."

"Well", she grinned shyly, "I was merely walking home."

The look he gave her seemed to be a little disbelieving, but finally he stated, "In that case I'd better take you there."

"That's very nice, but..." she remembered that her mom had told her not to go along with people she didn't know. But this guy didn't appear to be one of the dangerous sort, "Okay, it ain't far from here, just around the corner." Smiling again she took his hand and they started walking. "I'm Blanche, by the way. What's your name?"

"Cameron. You can call me Cam if you like."

After a short walk they reached a small terraced house not far from the neighborhood where Cameron used to live as a teen. Blanche knocked and not much later her mother opened the door.

"Honey, what happened this time? You're late and look at your blouse it's completely...soiled." That moment she noticed Cam standing beside her. She stared, sucking in her breath. For long seconds time froze around them before they were able to speak again. "Cam?"

"Amy?" his expression was totally incredulous as he eyed her over and over again. "Is that you?" It had to be her. She still had her round green eyes and high cheekbones; but the straight, reddish-brown hair that had once reached long over her shoulders had been replaced by a short, even bob.

"What the heck are you doing here?" she looked at him suspiciously.


	2. Chapter 2

Blanche looked from Cameron to her mother and back; they seemed to know each other from somewhere and apparently the memory of it wasn't the happiest

Blanche looked from Cameron to her mother and back; they seemed to know each other from somewhere and apparently the memory of it wasn't the happiest. She felt a tinge of compassion for him being looked at this warily even though he had just rescued her from this obnoxious horde of morons.

"Mom, he was just waking me home. What's so bad about that?" she said, hoping that it would do Cam any good.

"Nothing", her mother's gaze fixed on her now. She was meaning to say something else, but then changed her mind, merely telling her to go, do her homework. Grudgingly Blanche obeyed. There was nothing more boring she could think of than completing these totally senseless assignments.

But looking on the bright side she found, that if the they were as easy as always, she could sneak down again quickly to do some eavesdropping on what the two grown-ups had to tell each other.

As the little one had trotted upstairs Amy ushered Cam into the living-room. He could see that his ex was still very uneasy about his sudden appearance at her place.

"Can I get you something? Coffee, tea?" she asked in an effort to be polite.

"No, thanks, I'll pass", he replied dropping down on the sofa while she took a seat in the easy chair on the other side of the table, as far away from him as possible.

They looked at each other in silence for a few minutes before he had mustered enough courage to break the ice, "It's a nice little girl you've got there. I still can't believe those other kids were pelting her with cans."

"Yeah", Amy sighed, "but stuff like that happens all the time. Sometimes I think it's my fault."

Cameron frowned at her, "Don't beat yourself up about this. It can't possibly be your fault when some stupid boys need a victim."

"That's what you say", she retorted, "It just wasn't wise sending her off to school this early. You know, Blanche is not yet five and already finishing first grade. She's so unbelievably smart…"

"She's definitely got that from you", he stated trying to be funny, "Or have you married a rocket scientist?"

This remark earned him a threatening scowl. "We're living alone", Amy replied in an almost hostile tone of voice.

"So that bastard has run away." Cam couldn't believe such a stupid remark had just slipped him. But the fierce reaction it provoked instantly paid him back for his carelessness, completely disrupting the thin vestige of trust having built up between them.

"This is none of your business", Amy snapped finding it hard to restrain herself, "Or do you really think you did any better than that?"

"Hey", Cameron was on his feet now, deeply insulted, just as he had been the last time they had met, "_You_ were the one who left _me._"

She stood up now, facing him. "You shouldn't have come here", she hissed, "you better leave now."

There was no need she told him that twice. Without another word he left the house, slamming the door behind him. This really hadn't turned out the way he had hoped.

The noise of the front door being slammed shut roused Blanch from her concentration. Her mom had clearly made a mess again. Quickly she ran down the stairs and out into the street where their visitor was already walking out of sight.

"Cam, wait", she called, stopping him in his tracks. He didn't look too happy to see her. Choosing her words carefully she told him, "I'm sorry if my mom has been mean to you. She's never had it easy with me and sometimes it's just getting to her nerves."

He looked at her quizzically, "I doubt this has anything to do with you, kiddo. It's between her and me."

"I'm not so sure about that, but if you mean…" she saw that this argument wouldn't get them anywhere, "Anyway, thanks again for saving me." She reached into her pocket, and found one of her marbles, which she gave to him with a shy smile.

"No, problem, that's what I'm there for", the expression in his face changed and Blanche saw that there was something on Cam's mind.

"What are you thinking about?" she asked carefully.

He hesitated for a moment then said, "I was wondering if you knew who your dad is?"

The question struck Blanche like a lighting bolt. Thoughts and images started racing through her head. She wasn't sure: There had been somebody she had seen about a year ago. He had made her feel as though they were blood kin. Then again it had all felt so wrong, like her mind was only tricking her into it. This was why she had never told her mom about it.

"No", she managed to answer at last, "I mean, probably yes."

"Probably?" Cam raised an eyebrow.

"It feels like he's not around or not anymore…"

He furrowed his brow, "You mean 'not around' as in 'not in town' or 'not in the US'?"

"No. More like not on this planet." Blanche gasped. This had come straight from her subconscious mind and she had no idea why she had just said it.

Cam's expression clouded for a moment, "Do you seriously mean that?"

Still bewildered she nodded, as if controlled by an unknown mental force.

"This is unbelievable", he finally stated, "I think it's best if I leave now. But we'll keep in touch, okay little one?" With a well-meant smile he slipped the marble into his back pocket.

"Okay", still mystified by what had just happened Blanche remained standing right where she was, not moving for quite a long time.

xxxxx

The dream had not come to her for quite some time, but tonight it was coming back again:

_She was alone in a__ big, gloomily dark room. An uneasy heat was surrounding her. Suddenly she felt somebody's presence very close to her. The next moment it felt as if there were hands clawing all over her body. Out of control over herself and forced to obey she moved like they commanded her to. At once she found herself lying flat on her back, the darkness swimming before her eyes. She could feel how somebody or something was trying to intrude her. A searing pain cut through her abdomen, getting worse the more she tried to resist. She screamed, her pleas reverberating into emptiness…_

Panting Amy woke from her sleep. Quickly she felt for the hem of her sleep shirt, relieved to find that she was still wearing it. For a moment she just lay there between her dampened sheets, every fiber of her body shaking with dread. Finally she managed to slip out of bed. She came to a stop in front of the mirror, finding it hard not to cry. This couldn't have possibly happened to her. It was merely a dream and there was no real memory in her head telling her otherwise. But it always felt so agonizingly real. Running her still shaky hands through her curt hair, Amy tried to steady herself again. Hopefully she had not woken Blanche with her screaming. Quietly she tiptoed into her daughter's room. Thank god the little one was still sleeping peacefully. After a moment by her side, Amy left again.

As her mother had gone Blanche stirred in bed, relieved that she had tricked her mother into believing that she was still sound asleep.

She had known for a long time already that something was wrong with her mom; and she didn't have much of a doubt that she herself was the reason for it. Now she was secretly hoping that Cam would come back soon and offer a solution to it all. Blanche had the feeling that he was the one person capable of doing so.

_tbc _


	3. Chapter 3

The next day at breakfast Cam couldn't get his thoughts off Amy and the little one

The next day at breakfast Cam found it hard to get his thoughts off Amy and the little one. He sat around for what seemed like hours, just playing around with the marble Blanche had given to him. And he still couldn't see why her mother was having so much trouble talking about the girl's father. Perhaps it was because he had hurt her real badly. But what about Blanche's story? What if it was true and she…

"Hey Cam, what's up?" Sam Carter's voice startled him from his thoughts. She put her tray down next to him, giving him a gentle nudge as he didn't even bother looking up.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine", he sighed at last, pretending to show some interest in his long cold scrambled eggs.

"Oh, come on, you can't fool me, Cam. What's going on with you?"

It seemed like there was no way of fending her off right now. Maybe he could just as well share things with his teammate. "Okay, I had a strange meeting yesterday. You remember Amy Vandenberg?"

Sam nodded, "You mentioned her once."

"Well, thing is, I found myself dropping by at her house after having saved her kid from some rowdy boys. And 'cause the two of them are living alone I started wondering about the girl's father. That was a big mistake, for Amy was suddenly getting really pissed at me. And after she'd practically thrown me out her girl came running after me and guess what she told me?"

"What?" Carter wasn't really looking intrigued right now.

"She said her father probably wasn't on the same planet with us anymore."

Still, Sam didn't find it striking, "Maybe she meant he was dead."

"Hell, no", Cam rolled his eyes, "It just didn't sound like that. I even asked her why she had said it and she told me she didn't know."

"Really?" it was then Sam got interested, "This could be a problem."

"Pretty much. And you know what? I actually tend to believe her. You haven't seen her, but she seemed a little suspicious."

The way his colleague eyed him now made him stop in his tracks. Perhaps it was best if he went on a little more carefully: "Not in a bad way. It's just that she's very mature for her four years and way too clever…"

For a moment she was quiet, mulling things over in her mind. Finally she concluded. "You should better check things out before jumping to any rash conclusions, here. If you need any help, don't hesitate to ask, okay?"

"Okay, thanks", Cam gave her a grateful look, but also put a warning finger to his lips, "But not a word to anyone; not yet."

Sam nodded understandingly and their conversation was over, for the moment.

xxxxx

To Blanche's relief Cam didn't need much time coming back to her. Her heart leapt with joy the moment she saw him pull into the school's parking lot on his bike. The moment the bell rang she was out of the door to meet him, sniggering delightfully as she saw the boys cringing away on his approach.

"Hey little one", he greeted her with a smile.

"Hi Cam", she beamed, leading him over to sit on the front steps with her "I was hoping you'd come back."

"Did you really think I wouldn't?" he frowned with playful disappointment.

"Of course not", she gave him a slight punch. "Is there anything I can do for you?"

He looked at her as though he was feeling a little guilty about what he wanted to know. "Actually, yeah. Do you know how much your mom knows about your dad? Does she have any pictures of him or something?"

Blanche pondered for a moment, "No, not that I know of. The thing she's always trying to tell me is that their affair was very brief and he was long gone when I was born. Aside from that she claims that she doesn't know how to contact him or something…"

"That's weird", Cam's expression darkened somewhat as he heard this, "And she didn't tell you his name, either?"

Blanche creased her brows, "Not that I can remember."

He was growing very quiet now, probably disappointed with what she had just told him. "I'm sorry if I couldn't help you."

"Nah, it's okay, kiddo. I think it's time your mom and I have a serious little talk together. But not right now." He got up, "Do you need a lift home?"

"No, I think I'm fine", slowly she rose as well, seeing her new friend back to his motorcycle. After he had driven off she walked home straight away. Her mom didn't have to know that she had seen him again; it'd only freak her out.

xxxxx

The moment Cameron got back to base the solution of the problem hit him out of nothing: Amy had always tried not to lie about things, if she could help it. So, what if she didn't know the father herself and saw no point in telling her daughter any make-believe stories?

Suddenly Cam felt the urge to get to his office and call her. There was nothing that could hold him off now, not even her obvious reluctance to exchange another word with him ever again…

xxxxx

On her way home the boys were stalking Blanche again. At first she tried to look away, pretending not to see them. Sadly this didn't do her any good. As she passed a small side street, two of them suddenly appeared in front of her. She tried to turn and run away, but the rest of them had already assembled in a semicircle right behind her, blocking her only escape.

"Hey wiseass", their leader smirked at her, "Now your friend can't help you, anymore. Or did you really think you could get away from us for long?"

Blanche merely glared at them, yelling, "Leave me be, all of you!"

"Or what?" another one sneered, "Do you plan to throw your text books at us or something?"

At once the boy's hand was on her, pushing her into the rest of the gang who boxed and pushed her back, right into his arms. Suddenly she felt intimidated and silent tears were rushing into her eyes.

"Look, she's crying again. Do you want more, eh?" one of them started dodging her right towards the curbstone. At this moment a strange feeling was taking hold of Blanche: Without thinking she flung herself at the guy and a second later she was pushing him against a wall, her hands clutching his throat. "Don't you dare touch me", she growled, totally out of mind, "You're unworthy to even look at me." Before she could seriously hurt him, she pulled herself together again. Pale and shaking the boy moved away from her, running after his friends who had long hurried away, totally scared out of their wits.

As they were out of sight Blanche sank against the wall, staring at her hands in absolute disbelief. This hadn't been the first time she had felt like this. But until now, the horrible feeling hadn't broken out in public. She felt ashamed of herself, ashamed that she was capable of doing such a thing, ashamed that she could not control it better. Biting her lip Blanche took a moment to unwind. Before she got up and went home, she made herself promise that she would not allow herself such a mistake ever again...

xxxxx

After Cameron had dialed the number, he expected Amy to slam down the receiver, once she knew it was him on the other end of the line. He had already laid out some plans to keep her talking. But to his surprise he didn't need any of them:

"Hi Amy, it's me, Cam. We've gotta talk."

"-What the hell do you still want?" she sounded annoyed, but didn't hang up right away.

"There's one thing I need to know. It's very important", carefully he tried to soothe her some more before asking, "Listen, nobody's blaming you for anything. It's just that…"

To his surprise she interrupted him, "-What is it?"

Sighing Cam asked the question, "Do you know Blanche's father or don't you?"

"-I don't. And now leave us alone." Her reaction came quickly, but without much anger.

"I'll try." Sighing he put down the receiver. At least he was getting somewhere now.

xxxxx

Cam's sudden call had stirred many unwanted thoughts with Amy, but strangely she didn't blame him; he couldn't know. There was a lot she could not tell him and actually she hated herself for it, more than she would have thought. All of a sudden she felt overwhelmed by powerlessness. After getting herself a glass of water, she sat down on the sofa. Once she allowed herself to relax a bit, the shreds of what had happened came floating back into her head:

_She had been to a party in the neighborhood. Perhaps she had had one too many, but she was still feeling clear enough to walk home alone. Suddenly she had the impression of being watched. The next moment everything around her __changed…_

Amy remembered waking in her bedroom the next morning. She had no idea how she had gotten there, strongly suspecting that she had had a blackout after all. The strange, groggy feeling enveloping her strongly confirmed that notion.

As she went to see a doctor some weeks later, she was told about the pregnancy. And even though she had no idea who the father might be, she decided to have the baby. There was no need she'd sacrifice its life for her ignorance. So Blanche was born and Amy had never felt any remorse or doubt about this decision. Until now...

"Mom?"

Startled she blinked into the broad daylight surrounding her. Where was she? A moment later Amy realized that she was still sitting on the living-room sofa. She must have dozed off for some seconds. Now Blanche was standing in front of her. The little one's clothes were rugged and she was looking devastated. A strange air of contempt was surrounding her daughter. Something had to be clearly wrong with her, but what?

_To be continued…_


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Okay, I've finally watched 'Bounty' now. And this is Amy, then? -shrugs- I think I'll just go on with my version, here. I like her so much better, don't you too?

xxxxx

Being still a bit confused Amy sat up on the sofa and patted the empty space beside her. "Sit down and tell me what's wrong, darling. Have they been mean to you again?"

"Yeah", sighing Blanche dropped down by her side, the sinister expression on her fair little face making her look very grown-up, "But this time I couldn't take it anymore."

Amy frowned at her, disbelieving, "What did you do? Have you hurt anyone?"

"Almost", her daughter sniffled ruefully, "If I wouldn't have held myself back I would've probably strangled him."

Her mother's mouth popped open and she didn't reply, feeling the shock seeping through her.

Instead Blanche went on, "I'm sorry to tell you this, mom, but I think there's something really evil deep within me. And I don't know if I can hold it back forever…"

Amy's shivering hand found the girl's thick, crinkled hair, caressing it gently before pulling her closer. "This is nonsense, sweetheart, you'll be okay."

The child eyed her warily, "Promised?"

She nodded quietly, not knowing if she could really do so. After the whole incident with Cameron she wasn't sure about things anymore. It felt as though his sudden appearance had started a chain of unwanted events she could hardly deal with. Hoping that her worries would prove wrong she continued hugging her only child, trying to overlook what she had just told her…

_xx one week later xx_

Cameron hadn't wanted to go on that mission right now because his fears for Amy and especially the little one were still stuck to his mind like superglue. And now, as he was back, his greatest worries were confirmed. It all started with Sam coming to look for him shortly after their return. She was very excited and bristling with a tense nervousness that was totally unusual for her.

"Cam, I think you've got a problem", she told him the moment she caught him outside the locker room.

"What is it?" the spark of worry sprang over on him almost at once.

"It's about the little girl you told me about… Agent Barrett just informed the general that she's got the Trust on her heels and it looks like the NID isn't going to sit quietly on this one, either."

Cam felt his blood starting to boil, "What?? How the _hell_ did they know??"

Samantha shook her head, "We don't know."

"Damn. I need to go for her right away", the colonel got into motion, ignoring any try to stop him, "Could you please check with Landry for backup?"

"But Cam, you can't just interfere like that it's…" Sam broke off knowing that he didn't hear a word of what she was saying, "… too dangerous." Resigned she went off to settle things, so that Cameron wouldn't land himself headfirst into a huge load of trouble.

xxxxx

It had been another horrible day at school with the boys being after her as though nothing had ever happened. Blanche was feeling drained and helpless. Having retreated right after getting back home, she was now swinging on her favorite swing in the park as suddenly there were shadows flashing through the trees.

They came from two black SUVs riding along the parkway. After a moment she could hear a loud rustle in the foliage. They had come to a halt very close to her; only the trees were still separating them from where she was. Quickly she scrambled away, hiding in the bushes. Scared she watched how a group of men in black coats approached the swing that was still moving. They knew that she was around. After rummaging through the brush on the other side of the lawn some of them came walking towards her position. "We know you're here. There's no need to hide. We don't want to harm you."

She froze crouching down even closer to the ground. There was no way she could believe them. They had come to hurt her, but why?

After a while of looking around they started searching the bushes for her, slowly approaching her hiding-place. Blanche was stiff with shock, unable to crawl or run away. All she had left to do was to hold out and wait till somebody found her before they did. Sadly it was only a matter of minutes now and they would capture her…

xxxxx

Cursing Cameron geared up his motorbike. The urgency of the situation was holding him from any thoughts regarding his own safety or that of others. He was doing 120 on the freeway, only avoiding some serious crashes at a hair's breadth. As he finally reached Blanche's neighborhood the force of his breaking maneuver nearly threw him off. He hid his bike behind a tree and went out to search for the girl. From the corner of his eye he saw two black vans pull up at the park a few yards away from him. Quickly he dashed into the nearby shrubbery, looking for her in the immediate area...

xxxxx

Suddenly Blanche heard a loud snap of twigs close by. She froze, aware that they had found her at last. She was about to utter a panicked shriek as a hand came down over her mouth. Lashing out to kick her captor she realized that she knew him: It was Cam. She relaxed almost at once, turning around to face him. "I thought you'd never come", she whispered, overjoyed to see him.

"Shsh, kiddo, it's not over, yet", gently he pushed her in front of him and together they crawled out of the bushes.

xxxxx

Just as Cameron had lifted the child up into his arms, about to carry her away, he found the muzzle of a gun pointed at him.

"What do you think you are doing, Colonel?"

"Whoa, who do _you_ think you are?" he snapped back.

Not lowering his gun the guy snapped back at him, "Agent Darren Jones, NID. And this matter is all our responsibility. So if you would be so kind to cooperate?"

Mitchell rolled his eyes at that, "Yeah, sure." The next moment he and the little girl had vanished into thin air.

xxxxx

A salvo of bullets hit the ground very close to where the two had been standing only seconds ago. But it did not come from the NID agents. It was coming from the other side of the lawn.

"Dammit", Agent Jones cursed flinging himself into a bush for cover, shouting orders at his team, "Everybody, take cover. Return fire on sight."

Why the hell did they have to get into a crossfire that wasn't meant for them? It had all seemed so easy…

xxxxx

Amazed Blanche looked around and slipped out of Cameron's arms. "Wow. Where are we?"

"On a spaceship", Cam grinned at her, "while the guys down there are having loads of trouble."

"Without us", she sniggered, giving her rescuer a high five.

The colonel smirked, "Yup. Maybe this gets the sticks up their asses shaking a bit."

"Yeah, but tell me, who…?" Blanche's question was interrupted by someone entering the room. She spun around staring at him, taking in his features. He was rather tall and dressed in blue flight overalls, he had grayish hair and sort of friendly eyes. Cam seemed to know him, so he was okay. Shyly Blanche retreated to Cameron's side, letting him do the talking, which he had already started:

"Hi Lionel, thanks for the lift."

"No problem, Cam", the man smiled at them, "Especially since you've brought such nice company with you."

Now Cam remembered again that she was standing there. "Oh, right, how impolite of me. Blanche, this is Colonel Lionel Pendergast, commander of the Prometheus. Lionel, this is Blanche, Amy's daughter."

Blanche saw a twitch of amusement mixed with surprise cross the colonel's face. "Amy as in Amy Vandenberg, long legs, green eyes?"

Both Cam and the girl nodded at once. "Yup, that's my mom."

"That has been ages ago. It's good to know she's finally settled down…", Pendergast smiled with reminiscence, then he abruptly changed the subject. "If you'd come along now, there are some issues that need to be taken care of."

While they were following him through the corridor Blanche finally got the chance to pick up on her question again, "So, tell me, who were they and what did they want from me?"

Cam sighed, "Well, kiddo, that's a long, long story."

"So mom needn't wait for me with supper?"

"Nope, I don't think so." He gripped her hand and tried to smile again. But Blanche sensed very well that something was not quite right, here.

_tbc_


	5. Chapter 5

Agent Jones was on the ground and things around him were in a blur

_A/N: Hi__ everyone. Sorry for the huge delay, took me some time to settle in at university. _

_And thanks so much to whoever nominated this story for Blue Moon Awards. ) This is my first nomination… beams _

_Anyway, I'll try __to finish Second Base soon now, so that it can take part. On it goes…_

xxxxx

Agent Jones was on the ground and things around him were in a blur. He and his team had tried to retreat from the scene as yet another group of Trust men had ambushed them. Now the whole park area was bristling with enemy agents.

Moving carefully as not to attract attention, Jones attempted to get a better picture of the situation. Most of his men were scattered across the ground close by; all of them were wounded and several had been killed in the crossfire. There were at least 20 Trust agents in sight, systematically scouring the surrounding area.

What the hell were they still looking for? The girl had long gone.

Not much later his question was answered. Another van pulled by the walkway and a score of heavily armed men got out the back, they looked like bodyguards. One of them moved over to the passenger door of the car and opened it. A man dressed in a dark business suit got out and zipped straight for the leader of the search party. Jones could tell from his gait that he was infuriated about something. The team leader met the newcomer in the middle of the lawn, not far away from Jones's position. The NID agent strained his ears to overhear what they were saying:

"I'm afraid, we've lost her and found nothing else of value", the Trust man reported, fear shaking his voice.

"Incompetent fool. I want her found within the day. If we cannot proceed as planned, you'll be punished."

On hearing the man's voice, Jones froze. It could not possibly be true. Turning his head slowly he managed to get a glimpse of his face. The sight made him utter a horrified gasp. It confirmed his greatest worries. The whole matter was much graver than any of his superiors had dared to imagine, yet. If he failed to report this, things could turn into a foothold situation at any time.

A moment later the agent realized that his chance to pass it on would never come. Someone had just made out his movements. Heavy footsteps vibrated across the grassy ground, approaching him. Even before they had reached his position, Jones knew that he was doomed.

xxxxx

Dr Carolyn Lam had her eyes fixed on the computer screen, watching the little girl's DNA model come to life. String by string, the double-helix unfolded itself, creating more and more elaborate patterns. So far there was nothing unusual to be found. But suddenly the physician held on. A new sub pattern had just appeared, looking very familiar. But why? She froze the image for a moment and stared at it, but nothing came to her. As the construction sequence went on, the pattern repeated itself. Yes, Lam had definitely seen it before, not very long ago. This was not good.

Her fingers were trembling with dark anticipation as she placed them on the keyboard. Quickly she searched the DNA database for the file she had in mind. A moment later it popped up on screen. The doctor only had to look at it once to see her bad gut feelings justified. Still, realization hit her hard, making her heart race. Mortified she gripped the table's edge, steadying herself. This could not possibly be any worse. She had to inform Colonel Mitchell before things got out of hand.

xxxxx

Blanche was standing in the hallway outside the Prometheus's bridge. Nobody had taken notice of her, yet, not even Cam as he had gone inside to take a message. He was probably thinking she was still in the mess hall where he had left her.

They had been there for quite awhile and the colonel had tried to fill her in on what was going on as sensibly as possible. He had told the little one that two agencies, one goodish and one bad, were after her because she obviously was something special they wanted to get hold of. Blanche had taken in that bit of information, shuddering inwardly. They might not yet know what that special thing was, but she was quite sure it was nothing good. Maybe those agents had found out about her dark side and knew more than the little one herself. In that case they probably thought she was a big threat and wanted her out of the way.

Obviously these dark thoughts had mirrored on Blanche's face because Cam had suddenly clasped her hands into his. Then he had smiled at her, promising that he would never allow anyone to take away his cute little girl, not over his rotting corpse.

As Cameron left the bridge now, the smile had vanished. He found Blanche standing there and just stared at her quietly. The girl winced under his gaze that had hardened so suddenly.

"Cam… what?" she brought out quietly, afraid that she might've crossed him somehow.

The colonel eyed her solemnly and the onrush of bitterness Blanche sensed in him made her feel sick. "Have you always told me the truth?"

What an odd question. "Always. I wouldn't lie to you", she declared straight away. Then she realized there could only be one possible reason for Cam being so cross. "Is it my dad? Do you know who he is?"

"Yes", He nodded gravely, "and it's rather bad news."

Blanche was struggling to keep her calm. She was well aware that he was understating this matter by far. Cautiously she proposed, "Perhaps we should tell mom?"

Though she was not standing very close to him, the girl could feel Cameron's body tense even more. He seemed really worried for her mother now. "We have to tell her. She might be in danger, too."

xxxxx

Sick with worry Amy picked up the phone again. She had called Blanche's school and some of her classmates several times already but nobody had seen her after class. That had been five hours ago and her daughter had not come home since then.

Suddenly a chill made the hairs on her neck stand up. She did not turn her head to check; reason told her there could be nothing there. Shrugging off the odd feeling she dialled 911. Her finger was just hovering over the call button as a strong arm grabbed her around the waist, forcing her to turn around. The receiver fell with a crash and Amy was staring into a stranger's face. "Where is she?" he demanded in a cold, oddly distorted voice.

She just gaped at him for a long moment, horror paralyzing her body. "Where is who?"

The man's eyes glowed fierily and Amy cringed. There was something frighteningly familiar about him, making all the old nightmares ricochet through her mind again.

The stranger pulled her closer, hurting her. "My daughter. Where is she?"

"I…" speechless she shook her head, indicating that she did not know.

His fingers were pressing into her lower back now, making Amy tremble. Slowly he bent down whispering threateningly. "We'll see about that."

At once a prickling sensation took hold of her body. Startled, Amy shut her eyes; as she opened them again, her home was gone. He had taken her away.

_To be continued…_


	6. Chapter 6

Cameron had taken Blanche with him as he went to look for her mother. He knew that at the moment it wasn't the wisest thing to do but as long as he staid with her, he didn't really care much what the others said.

That notion changed the moment they were standing in the living-room. Amy had vanished and there was no evidence left, except for the dropped phone on the floor. They were too late. The little one sat down on the ground and started sobbing. Gently he took her into his arms, stroking her back. "It's okay. We're gonna find her."

"No", she shook her curly head, tears streaming down her face, "And it's all my fault."

The colonel did his best to curb his own bad feelings. "Bullshit, kiddo. No need to blame yourself for something totally out of anyone's control…" He looked at her realizing that her expression had changed. The girl had turned her head away from him, staring intently at a point not far away from where they were sitting. "What is it?"

"He has been here", she gasped, walking over to the spot of floor, trembling visibly.

The colonel frowned, "Your dad? Yeah sure he has, who else would want to…?"

"You don't understand", Blanche interrupted him sharply, "I mean the real him."

Cameron gasped. What was going on here? This was not the first odd remark about her father Blanche had made. Slowly he approached her. Why did she know things she could not know, unless… "Is there something you are not sharing with me?"

The little one bit her lip. "There's just one thing I forgot to tell you. Once I saw a man and I had that odd feeling that he had to be my dad but the next moment it felt all wrong again. And now…", she breathed, excitedly, "the feeling is back but it all seems right."

"Do you know what you're talking about there?"

She frowned, "A feeling?"

Cam shook his head. "No. It's much more than that and you have to keep it secret, hear me?"

"But why…?" his concerned look made Blanche stop wondering. Slowly she nodded, holding out her arms for him to hold her.

"At least you know it's him who has her." He picked her up and stroked her hair reassuringly, struggling hard to hide his calamitous feelings of worry.

xxxxx

"Let me go", finally Amy broke free from her kidnapper's grip, ramming her elbow down his midriff. But the effort was fruitless. Only seconds later he took hold of her arm again, displaying a malignant sneer that made her freeze.

"I liked you better last time", he stated as he dragged her through the room, "You were far less troublesome."

A sudden crash vibrated through Amy's spine, telling her that he had her cornered against the wall. Out of self-defence, spite took over briefly: "Must be because you drugged me."

"Not a mistake I will make again." Suddenly Amy felt something cold resting against the skin between her collarbones. It was the tip of a blade. Shrieking she tried to twist away but he merely brought down his free arm, checking her movement effortlessly. Slowly the blade moved up across her neck and towards her face, forcing her to turn her head sideways. He brought his mouth close to her ear and whispered, not without threat,

"Where is my daughter?"

"I don't…" Amy stammered. She was immediately punished by a hot trickle of blood running from a small cut on the side of her neck.

The knife was moving down deeper now, slashing clean through her shirt on its way.

"No…" she protested quietly as the fabric slid off her shoulders. Suddenly his hand was brushing along her half-naked breast. Trembling she felt the unexpected, almost gentle movements, too terrified to watch.

"How can her mother not know that?" In a cold flash of pain the blade came down on her exposed flesh. A horrified gasp escaped Amy's lips while ripples of cold sweat began travelling down her body. Her heart was racing and she was afraid, but she pulled herself together, for Blanche.

"I haven't seen her all day." Groaning she stared at the bleeding mark on her breast as he withdrew the knife, obviously taking pleasure in her suffering. But not so much in her answer.

"We could have it all so much easier", his hand travelled up the side of Amy's face as he spoke, his voice tainted with mock compassion. "But sadly you chose to anger me. How very unfortunate for you…"

Suddenly something in his cupped hand was pressing against her temple and a searing pain cut through her skull. Amy screamed, disorientation grabbed hold of her and she sank to the floor. All she could focus on now was her tormentor still hovering over her.

"And it'll all come back to you now", another tantalizing pang of pain exploded in Amy's head, blacking her out.

xxxxx

Blanche was staring venomously at the man on the other side of the table. He was one of the agents that wanted her gone and she only wished that he would leave her alone. Half hiding behind Cameron she followed the agitated conversation that was going on between them.

"She's a threat to all of us and you know that", the agent stated.

"_She_ is in the room with us so you'll take that back", Cam demanded, squeezing her hand with his.

"I'm not taking back anything. This girl is our enemy."

Cameron gritted his teeth, visibly offended by the other man's remarks. "You've gotta be kidding me, Barrett, Blanche is not even five, yet."

"That is what you say, _colonel_. She is responsible for the deaths of six of my men and the abduction of her own mother", Agent Barrett snapped getting more and more worked up.

And so did Blanche, she was caught between tears and blind aggression and the only thing that kept her steady was Cam's arm resting against her side.

"She didn't cause any of that", he was gently stroking Blanche's back now, futilely hoping to calm her down.

"But her father did and she is just like him."

The blood was pulsing through her head more quickly now, making Blanche see red. This man's insult had stirred the darkest feelings in her and nothing was holding her back now, not even the hand of a friend.

"You have no proof of … " Cameron broke off, feeling her sudden, jerking movement beside him, "Blanche?"

Seething with hatred she ignored him. A moment later the agent was against the wall. Blanche had pinned him down and her wrath was still growing. She dug her fingernails into his wrist forcefully, threatening to snap it. Cameron was behind her trying to pull her away but she was stronger now, shoving him away effortlessly.

"You will help me find my mother", she growled at Barrett, "or I'll kill you."

At once she felt how the blinding sensation of hatred snapped something inside her head. Giddiness overcame her and she started panting heavily before she fell down, losing control over her body. Blanche struggled hard but nothing could stop the darkness from enveloping her.

xxxxx

Tiny dots of light were dancing in front of her eyes. She had to have fallen on her head. Slowly Amy tried to turn and focus, attempting to grasp what was going on. That moment something intruded into her head; it was a long-lost memory that felt like it didn't belong. Scared she tried to push it away, but its force was too overpowering, breaking her defences within seconds.

"_Do you really want to walk home on your own?"_

_It was the night of the party again and it was late already. Her friend Paula looked worried as Amy turned to leave, but she waved the concern away._

"_Yeah, I'm fine. It's only down the block. See you on Monday?" Without waiting for a response, Amy was out of the door and started walking down the street. After a few steps she paused. She felt like somebody was behind her. Quickly she turned her head, but there was nothing there. Dismissing the feeling as an overreaction she moved on, walking past a shady cluster of old trees, the next moment she was somewhere else._

She didn't remember it like that. The shock of this realization gave Amy a brief, lucid moment. Desperately she tried to turn back her memories, but then she lost the fight to her brain completely.

_The suddenly bright surroundings were blinding her Amy and there was someone grabbing her from behind. That alone was enough for her to freak out. S__hrieking she fought to break free but the attacker was too strong. But Amy didn't give up. Desperately she twisted, kicked, scratched and bit around her till she was too weak to withstand the growing party of oddly clad men that were trying to get hold of her. At last two of them were grabbing her forcefully; then another man she had not seen before approached from the shadows. The stranger had an air of threatening authority about him that left no doubt that he was behind all this._

"_What do you want?" Amy snapped, kicking for him._

_He just sneered at her before coming closer and touching her face. "Something you will obviously refuse." He paused, running a finger across her lips while she was trying to twist away from his touch._

"_You should be honoured I picked you, but yet you are so very unwilling."_

_Amy's lips quivered with anger. "I won't let you touch me."_

"_I was afraid you would say that", he shook his head with faked disappointment, "we could've had such a pleasant time together." _

_He grabbed her wrist, tracing a line to the bend of her arm before producing a syringe__. "But you wanted it like this."_

_Amy tried to pull away her arm but he was grabbing it firmly while the two guards were holding down the rest of her body. Their arms were coming down on her with an unbearable weight__, while she felt the prick on her skin and the cold, creeping sensation of liquid emptying itself into her veins. Helplessly she screamed experiencing how her entire blood seemed to freeze as the drug began spreading through her body, slowing down her heartbeat and blurring her vision on its relentless journey into the brain. Her surroundings were starting to get distant and she could hear her own yells echoing through her head before, almost momentarily, every shred of self-awareness slipped away._

Gasping Amy opened her eyes. The brutal reality of the memory was still paralyzing her, but now she understood. She had been here once before and this man had abused her body in an unspeakably morbid way. Silently she started weeping, completely unable to cope with this truth. She knew that if he brought back another one of these memories, she would inevitably break. All she could do to save her daughter, was to hold out as long as possible, no matter what.

xxxxx

Blanche was lying on the floor motionlessly. Shocked Cam rushed over to the little one's side and picked her up. Everything was alright, she was just unconscious. But this had been totally unnecessary.

"Look what you've done", he snarled at Barrett who was still staring at the girl's motionless form incredulously.

"She deserved every single word of it", the NID agent retorted dryly, "I could have her confined for attacking me."

Cameron struggled hard to withstand the urge of thumping the other man into the wall again. "Over my rotting corpse, Barrett", he hissed, "All you'll do is what she wanted. Find Amy. And if you don't…" he moved threateningly close until he was face to face with the agent, "There will be more than one person eager to get rid of you."

"Is that a threat, Colonel?" Barrett raised an eyebrow, not letting on about his feelings.

"No, just a friendly suggestion", Mitchell snapped, "and now get off the ship and leave Blanche in peace." Without another word he walked away, gently cradling the exhausted child in his arms.

_To __be continued…_

_xxxxx_

_A/N: Thank you__ all again for reading the story._

_By the way, now__ I found that one 'USS' that slipped me in chapter 4. How embarrassing… headdesk _

_But it's fixed now. Blame the excessive watching of NCIS at the time I posted that chapter…_


	7. Chapter 7

Her fingers were spreading out protectively but she was too weak to even look up

She was blinded by her surroundings and even too weak to look up. Nightmarish images and broken memories were creeping through her head, bringing with them an unbearable hurt that felt like it was about to burst her skull into a thousand pieces.

"No, not again", Amy breathed, spreading out her hand aimlessly to fend off another activation of the device. But her hand was pushed aside unceremoniously, before, only seconds later, another dart of throbbing pain cut through her temple. She cried out, until once again she was dragged into the darkest hollows of her subconscious mind:

_With a gasp she awoke.__ Her skin was burning hot, yet it was covered in pools of cold sweat that were chilling her to the bone. The room around her was bathed into an odd half-darkness, making it hard for her to look around or focus on anything. As she tried to shift position Amy realized that she was lying flat on her back and could not move._

_Suddenly__ somebody was beside her, slowly rolling up her shirt. It was him. Panicked she tried to pull away, forgetting that she couldn't and the effort was enough to send her into a dizzy spell. The feeling of his cold hands on her now naked skin abdomen made her snap out of it at once. "What…" she brought out weakly, realizing that she could hardly speak._

_He__ kept on moving his fingers across her skin slowly. "I want my fruit to grow properly." He picked up a long, thin object and placed it against her belly. Amy shrieked at the needle-sharp pain as it went in, administering something to her tissue, momentarily filling her abdomen with a burning sensation. She was breathing quickly now, afraid. _

_What had he done to her? Then her slow-moving brain realized it."I won't have your baby", she hissed __laboriously._

"_I hadn't thought so", he retorted before attaching something to the side of her head, "But I can__'t have you doing stupid things to it. You will forget."_

_The next thing she remembered was a tearing hurt in her head eating on her memories, followed by nothingness._

An unbearable pain shot through Amy's nerves. Memory and reality were mingling now, collapsing into one with a mind-blowing explosion. It blinded and deafened Amy; all she could still feel was agony and it had set out to crumble her.

xxxxx

Blanche woke up and looked around her. She knew she had done something bad and was expecting to be locked up somewhere by now, but she wasn't. There wasn't even a guard around. Probably it was time she warned someone of what might happen if she lost control for real…

The sight of Colonel Pendergast sitting by her bedside distracted her from these thoughts for a moment, because she liked him and didn't want to worry him.

"Hey", she tried to smile, carefully judging the situation she had landed herself in, "I'm sorry for what happened. You must be very angry at me for acting up like that and…"

The colonel interrupted her by grinning broadly all at once, "Angry, kiddo? Actually you only did what all of us wanted to do in a long, long while."

Blanche just gawked at him as he started to laugh. "But you know I could've killed him."

"But you didn't", Pendergast stopped laughing, seeing how roused she was.

She bit her lip, trying not to look all worked up, for her own sake. "Where's Cam?" she inquired, changing the subject.

Lionel smiled again, "I think he'll be here in awhile", he winked, "When he's squeezed everything out of Barrett…"

"Do you mean he has found my mom?" she gasped, barely able to believe it.

"You can ask him", the colonel remarked, "here he comes."

But Blanche had already jumped out of bed and was running towards Cameron who had just come in. He held out his arms and she let herself be hugged, "Good to see you're up."

For a moment she said nothing, afraid to be disappointed. But she did not have to ask; Cam sensed her fear and answered the unspoken question. "We might have a lead on your mom."

Blanche sighed, gratefully cuddling up to him. Maybe now everything would be okay again.

xxxxx

"The Trust doesn't have her", Cameron said "It's just like you said."

Blanche nodded, "I told you so."

Sighing he sat the little one down on the bed again, "You know, that's not really better for her, probably much worse…" he paused, realizing what he was still talking to a little girl here and it was just in time: her eyes were widening and she looked as though she was about to cry. But at last she pulled herself together again, "You're probably right", she admitted meekly, "Where are they?"

"Barrett gave me the location of the ship and a set of access codes so we can mount a rescue", Cam stated, wondering if he had already said too much; and he had, for Blanche had already realized the oddity of that.

"How come he has access codes to an enemy ship?" she eyed him suspiciously, probably thinking that he was telling her tales.

The colonel shifted his feet awkwardly before answering: "The NID has informers on that ship. But he said they won't break cover for a rescue operation they don't consider important."

Shocked he realized that he had talked too much for the second time in a few minutes. Blanche had jumped to her feet and was halfway out of the door before he could catch her. For a moment she was tense with anger, fighting against his grip, kicking and scratching aimlessly.

"Whoa", at last Cameron managed to calm her fiery aggressions, holding her tightly against his body, "He's off the ship, okay? If you still wanna kill him, you can do that after we saved Amy…"

Gradually her breathing slowed down again and she sniffled quietly, feeling sorry. "You're right."

For a moment they were silent. Cam sat down, gently caressing the little one's back until she looked up at him. Tears were still glistening in her eyes but she seemed halfway composed again.

"Can I come with you?"

She knew the answer was no. But after what had just happened, the colonel was afraid of how Blanche would react if he reminded her. Though, if he didn't, they would just lose more precious time. Perhaps it was already too late right now.

"It's too dangerous. But I promise you, we'll bring her back", he said, stroking her curly hair, hoping she would understand.

xxxxx

Slowly Amy regained consciousness. The lighting was hurting her eyes and she could barely open them. She was trapped between quick, blurry bursts of light and a gloomy darkness that was pressing down on her with an unbearable, almost smothering force. In the darkness his hands were all over her body, touching her, holding her, forcing her. But she could not resist.

His smell was encompassing her and his heat was entering every pore of her naked skin. Unstoppably his fingers were making their way down her midriff, going to forbidden places she could allow him to reach. Amy's brain fought against it but none of her muscles reacted on her pleas. The more desperate she became, the easier it got for him to conquer her body: Her heart was beating slower, forcing her body to be relaxed and willing until finally…

"Don't touch me", her scream was loud and sudden, forcing her eyes wide open. Her tormentor's hand was resting on her arm and she lashed out for it. He just sneered and left it where it was, bending down until he was really close to her. The mere motion made Amy cringe and he enjoyed her disgust with devilish pleasure.

"At last you remember what I suppressed so long ago. And I'm sure you will obey…"

His other hand found the soft skin of her neck, slowly trailing up towards her face.

"…now that you recognize my power."

The slight touch stirred another bout of memories, it was enough to make her sob.

"So, who has my daughter?"

A veil of tears was blurring Amy's vision, she did not want to tell him, but both her mind and her body were too weak to withstand anymore. The veil thickened and her jaw started quivering until she lost control, blurting out, "I will tell you…"

"I'm all ears", his sarcastic comment made her shudder, but Amy could not check herself. Slowly she parted her lips to speak, about to betray everything that was dear to her.

_To be continued…_


	8. Chapter 8

"Cameron has her", Amy gasped

"Cameron has her", Amy gasped. She had betrayed them at last. And he was pleased by it.

"Cameron Mitchell, is it?" she could sense his amusement, "So all have to do is set up my trap and wait till he comes to rescue you…"

The click of a gun being cocked made him turn around. Amy was still dazed so she did not realize what was going on, only did she hear Cameron's voice all at once.

"Why wait? How about now?"

Was he really here or was that another mind game? Her brain was too exhausted to figure it out; all she could do now was to hang on and keep up hope.

xxxxx

"Where is she?" Ba'al wasn't looking too happy to see him but Cameron was too enraged to care. He had seen Amy lying on the ground, looking helpless and beaten; that was enough to fire him up. And right now not much but tactics was keeping him from pulling the trigger on the bastard who had done this to her.

"Well out of your reach", he snapped back spitefully. For a moment the room fell silent. Neither Mitchell nor the Goa'uld made a move and the situation seemed frozen until suddenly the door opened and the last person Cam had expected to see came in: Blanche. What the hell was she doing here?

As she walked by, he snatched for the girl to get her out of the line of fire. Grabbing her arm he pulled her behind himself, whispering, "What are you thinking you're doing?"

Her reply was very quiet, almost inaudible, "I'm not thinking."

"So much for that", mockingly Ba'al took in the screwed-up situation, plainly satisfied with the sight, "And what are you going to do now, Colonel? Shoot me?"

"You deserve it", Cameron retorted, re-aiming his rifle at him. He could feel Blanche moving behind him, trying to catch a glimpse of her father, but he shoved her back quickly

The System Lord used this split second to move away from him, stopping beside Amy. He pulled her to her feet. "Only then I will take your precious little friend with me."

Cameron cursed. The child's sudden appearance had messed up everything. He had no idea how she had followed the team here, all he knew was that she had turned the whole rescue into a mess. And all that for wanting to see her father who was nothing but a ruthless mass murderer. Trying not to let his anger blind him, he pointed the muzzle at Ba'al again, contemplating what to do next.

xxxxx

Blanche had known Cameron would not allow her to come so she had just given in and told him she understood. Now she was just sitting on her own, not knowing what to do. But suddenly the girl felt as though something was calling her. At first it was only weak and she thought she was fooling herself into believing something that could not be true. Then, slowly it got more, gradually eating itself into her thoughts, turning into an irresistible pull her mind could not withstand anymore. The calling evoked a feeling of loneliness, the wish to belong somewhere at last. Sneakily the urge forced itself onto Blanche until it was finally controlling her. It created a strength and determination no onrush of wreath had yet brought out.

Walking out of the room and not knowing where she was going and why she followed it until she suddenly found herself approaching the ring room, faced with two guards who had no idea what she was capable of. Within seconds she knocked out the first. A part of her was screaming to stop but she couldn't, circumstances forcing her to take out the other as well. At last Blanche let herself in, going straight for the controls. An image in her head told her exactly what to do and she followed suit.

Quickly she stepped on the ring platform and let herself be carried to her father's ship. As she materialized, there were guards present but something in her look made them step out of the way and leave her unchallenged.

Blanche made her way through the ship, knowing exactly where to go, but the moment she stepped in on the scene, she faltered. Her conscience kicked back in, telling her there was danger. Suddenly she felt someone grabbing her arm and pulling her back, it was Cam and he was not very pleased to see her. The little one's strong feelings for him, forced back her urges for another instant, making her obey him. Dutifully she took cover behind him while the calling was still gnawing at her mind.

xxxxx

Amy was pulled up and forced to stand though her legs would not carry her. A sharp pain shot through the lower half of her body but he held her up relentlessly. Groaning she tried to grasp what was going on, but her senses were dulled. Her mind was drifting from near unconsciousness to half-awareness, not allowing her to perceive, nor to react.

Suddenly a loud bang made her entire frame judder forcefully. Mere seconds later she started to fall. Time seemed to freeze and the way down seemed endless. Finally she hit the ground, hurting her head.

Amy sensed the whole floor vibrating with quick footsteps and the air being full of rushed voices that reflected off her sweaty skin. But before she could understand what was happening, she fainted.

xxxxx

She saw Cameron's finger move towards the trigger and something inside her started screaming. He could not kill her father, not before she had ever really seen him. Desperately she charged forward, running toward him, unthinking. Halfway there she felt a sharp pain in her side. Blanche sank to her knees, feeling the hurting spread. Slowly but gradually it started weakening her, drawing the warmth from her limbs. Crying out she looked to find her father, but he vanished in front of her eyes, leaving her alone. Tears shot into her eyes and she fell over, with no strength left to get up again. She could hear Cameron shout from behind her. He was coming, but before he could reach her, she lost consciousness.

xxxxx

"Shit", Cameron lowered his weapon, wondering how he could've possible hit the girl. But he had. Quickly he ran towards her, calling her name. But Blanche did not react, lying on the floor in a curled-up bundle. He crouched down beside her and checked her wound. It didn't look good: the bullet had entered her stomach sideways and hadn't come out again. As he put a hand under her it was immediately soaked in her blood. She was dieing and there was nothing he could do. Gently he laid her into his lap, noticing for the first time that her father had beamed himself off. But right now he was giving a damn. Gently he caressed the little one's face, hoping she would open her eyes once more. "Blanche, can you hear me?"

After a moment the girl stirred, flicking open her eyes slowly. Her breath was coming in laborious, irregular bursts and she was looking up at him in a wide-eyed stare, tears collecting in the corners of her eyes. "Cam, I… I'm sorry", she stammered quietly, "The calling … it was too strong." She quivered.

Holding her tightly Cameron stroked a few hair out of her face soothingly. "Shsh, it's okay. He did that to you."

"No", she whispered, "it wasn't his intention." Suddenly a spasm rocked her body and the look in her eyes was getting distant. "So sorry", she mouthed the words laboriously, seemingly running out of breath and suddenly it was over.

"Don't leave me", Cameron was growling now, furiousness rising to the surface. He kept on holding her, burying his face in her tiny shape, unable to suppress his sobs anymore. Suddenly an odd feeling made him stop. Fazed he looked up. In the same he realized that Blanche was being taken away from him. A transporter beam had locked onto her and she was dematerializing in front of his eyes.

No. The colonel cursed, staring at his hands. He had lost her to the enemy. For a moment time stopped around him, burning into him the futility of the whole situation. It was all his fault, he should've know that this would happen.

"Cam?" Sam's call brought him back to reality. Slowly he turned his head, seeing Amy still lying on the floor, looking more dead than alive herself. The only thing he could do to calm his conscience right now was to save her and try to make up for his incompetence, though he knew, he never would.

xxxxx

Darkness was surrounding Amy, but she wasn't alone. In the dark of her dreamless sleep there was something creeping and as the fear became unbearable, it materialized itself right in front of her. It was him again. His hands were moving about her helpless body, probing and hurting her. The pain it caused was so real, it couldn't be a dream. She tried to wrestle free but every movement increased the pain, bringing him closer to his goal. Finally she could feel him trying to intrude her again but the shock of it shook her up and she started screaming and kicking.

At last, the sudden crash of her foot into something hard ended Amy's nightmare. Mortified and trembling she looked about herself until a strong set of arms enclosed her. Shrieking she lashed out, "Don't touch me!"

A moment later she realized that the person they belonged to didn't mean her harm: It was Cameron. The sight of him was enough to make her break down and cry.

"I'm so sorry… I didn't mean to…" she whispered, her lips trembling with trepidation.

"It's okay", he had another try at embracing her and this time he succeeded.

Still tremulous, Amy put her head against his chest. "He…" exhaling slowly she sought strength to go on talking, "he put these things back into my head…"

"I know", Cameron stroked her cheek, "but if you want we can make the memories disappear again…"

"No", she gasped, tearing herself free; this had to be another mind game, "nobody will mess with my mind again."

Cam just looked at her. "It's fine if you don't want to, you've been through enough."

For a moment they were silent, looking at each other until Amy suddenly realized that her daughter was not here with them.

"Where's Blanche?" she questioned hesitantly, dreading the answer.

She saw the indecision on Cameron's face and it made her shiver even more. But finally he sat down on the edge of the bed, cupped her hands into his and told her: "She's gone."

Amy's face fell. "Do you mean she's…?"

He nodded. "Ba'al took her with him and it's possible he…"

"Ba'al? Is that his name?" she interrupted him, not wanting to hear any more. Amy had never known her tormentor's name before, but now she did, and she would curse it for as long as she lived.

"Yes, it is. But as for the little one", Cameron continued but she stopped him. Quietly she spoke to him with tears filling her eyes, "If he has her, Blanche is lost to me."

Shocked he stared at her, "How can you say that? There's still a chance."

His try to sway her made Amy furious. After what Ba'al had put her through, she was pretty certain of what would happen to her daughter, once he had taken hold of her. There was nothing more she could do for her, so it was best if she just forgot the child and carried on. "She's dead to me, Cameron, just like you died for me, the moment you walked out on me."

As though she had hit him into the face, Cameron averted his gaze; as he looked back at her, there was an expression of anger and incomprehension in his eyes.

"Why are you doing that to yourself?"

Amy just shook her head. She didn't know. But instinct told her that, if she wanted to have a normal life again, this was the only way.

Sadly she watched Cameron leave, knowing that the pain of this loss was nothing compared to what she had already been through. And she accepted it.

xxxxx

Slowly Blanche opened her eyes. She knew that she had died, but now, it felt as though nothing had happened. Curiously she looked around, finding herself in a rather grand, spacious bedroom. Still taking in her surroundings she turned around and found her father sitting by her bedside. Feeling told her it was really him, but it also left her with an uncanny impression that had not been there before.

"I wouldn't have thought you'd come to me that easily", he stated with a half-smile.

She sat up. "It just came over me. But you didn't think it would ever happen, right?"

"No", he laughed, "I didn't create you to be like that."

Inwardly Blanche shuddered; she didn't like the sound of it. But for her own sake, she decided to play along. "Then how do you wanted me to be?"

He just shook his head, "So many questions."

"Just the one", the girl tried to coax him, "I really need to know."

For a moment he said nothing, then he finally spilled the beans. "I wanted an heir on Earth, to secure my interests; somebody of my own greatness."

Blanche frowned. It really didn't sound like he had wanted offspring for any other reason but his own ego, but if she told him that she'd get into trouble, just like her mom.

"That sounds", trying to look cheerful again, she thought hard, "different. But I guess we are, you and me…"

Now it dawned on her that the only option she had, if she wanted to get back home, was to play along and please her father, if only to stay out of trouble. For, this place was not her home, nor was this man the kind of father she had pictured him to be. But for now she was stuck with him, like it or not. And she would have to muster all her guile to make the best of it. Swallowing her unease she smiled at him. "I'd like to see some of that greatness."

Her request was met by a satisfied look and an outstretched hand. Without hesitation Blanche took it, knowing that everything would be fine. She just had to try hard enough.

xxxxx

Cameron was watching Amy from a distance. She still seemed unstable and confused, but after all she had been through, that was no big surprise. Slowly he was beginning to understand why she had just rejected him, but it still hurt his feelings. The only comfort he had was that, maybe, over time she would get better and change her mind. Until then, he could only keep on hoping.


End file.
